Thoulakhom-Pakngum Road nears Completion

The rebuilding of a 47-km road from Nanokkhoum village in Thoulakhom district, Vientiane province, to Naxay village in Pakngum district, Vientiane, is now more than 70 percent complete.

The road links Pakngum and Xaythany districts in Vientiane with Thoulakhom district to the north.

The upgrade will provide a faster road for traffic travelling between the north and south of the country and will divert traffic away from the centre of Vientiane, helping to ease congestion in the city centre .

President of the contracting company Phinthong Co., Ltd., Mr Somphan Panyathilath, told Vientiane Times yesterday we’ve finished the main works such as widening the road, laying drainage pipes, filling in low areas, and grading the surface.

Now we’re concentrating on asphalting and have laid asphalt on three kilometres. We’ve also begun work on the first bridge, he added.

The project began in April 2013 and should be finished in April 2017. Over its length, the road will have eight bridges and causeways across water courses.

It is expected to cost about 373 billion kip and is funded by the government. The road will have two layers of asphalt over a distance of 46 kilometres, which will be nine metres wide.

Local residents are looking forward to project completion as they will be the immediate beneficiaries of the upgrade.

Completion of the road will also open up the area to tourists as there are a number of scenic attractions in the area, including Tad Hinpafa, Phou Khao Khouy and Thevada.

The income generated by the increasing number of tourists is expected to boost the incomes of local residents and so improve their economic status.